Xanthates are the
salts and esters of a xanthic acid, ROC(=S)SH or O-esters of
dithiocarbonic acid where R is any organic residue.

Other names for
xanthates include xanthogenates, carbondithioates, dithiocarbonates and
sodium or potassium salts of xanthanic (or dithiocarbonic)
acids.

Four types of
xanthates (ethyl, butyl, propyl and amyl) can be produced in various
combinations with sodium and potassium, which are stabilizers in the
chemical formula.

Xanthates can be
produced from carbon disulfide, and are used as flotation agents in
mineral processing.

Carbon disulphide
(CS2) is also known as carbon bisulphide and sometimes dithiocarbonic
anhydride. It is a faintly yellow highly flammable liquid with a strong
disagreeable odour.

Xanthates are
water-soluble chemicals that are used primarily in the mining
industry.

Xanthates are
chemical reagents commonly used during the processing of metalliferous
ores in mine concentrators. They are added to ore which has been
crushed and ground into a fine particulate and mixed with
water.

Xanthates coat the
valuable mineral particles, renderingthem water repellent and
thereby promoting theiradherence to air bubbles which are blown in
from thebase of flotation cells.

Xanthate
precipitation is a relatively new technology compared to other
precipitation methods. Xanthates are sulfonated organic compounds. The
xanthate acts as an ion exchange material, where heavy metals ions are
replaced with sodium and magnesium.

Xanthates are
commonly used to manufacture cellulose film (cellophane) and rayon, but
in Australia they are exclusively used as a collector for the extraction
of sulfide minerals.

Xanthate is the
common name for chemical reagents used in the flotation of base and
precious metals, which is the standard method for separating valuable
minerals, such as gold, copper, lead or zinc minerals, from non-valuable
minerals, such as limestone or quartz (gangue).

Flotation is most
commonly used method in mineral processing for separating valuable
minerals from the rest of the invaluable gangue in the
ore.

Xanthates are also
used as defoliants, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides in
agricultural production and as additives in the curing and vulcanization
of rubber and as high-pressure lubricant additives.

New uses for
xanthates include inhibition of fertilizer nitrogen transformation and
colour development for image-recording materials.

In Australia, sodium
ethyl xanthate, potassium amyl xanthate and sodiumisobutyl xanthate
have been widely used in the mining industry for the past
30years.

General

General Description
on Xanthate

About
Xanthate

General information
about Xanthate

Process

Synset cellulose
xanthate, viscose

Cellulose Xanthate

Miscellaneous
Cellulose Manufacturing

Making Rayon
Fiber

Rayon Fiber
Production process

Sodium Ethyl
Xanthate

Final Determination
- Xanthates

Xanthate
Precipitation techniques

Properties

Direct force
measurement between gold surfaces in xanthane solution

DNA and RNA virus
species are inhibited by xanthates, a class of antiviral compounds with
unique properties